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Post by Hallie Thera Christodoulou on Jan 12, 2011 6:07:28 GMT -7
Standing in her office Hallie was checking all of her notes for her first lesson with Hufflepuff and Slytherin third years. She sat down in her chair and glanced around her office. This room needs to be cleaned, she thought. Hallie was the Care of Magical Creatures Professor and that was what she focused on most. Her office would stay cluttered almost all year long until she packed for the summer and then the moment she got back it would look like she never left. She smiled as she flicked her wand and moved a portrait over to a different wall. The picture of her Greek family, she wanted that to be in the middle everything. They were a big part of her life and they would be a big part of her school life as well.
She looked over at the window as Henry flew on in and she smiled. "Hey boy," she said petting him gently. Anyone who met her could tell by her accent she was from Greece. She'd never lose that accent. Something that made Hallie, well, Hallie. She pulled out an owl treat and gave it to Henry and smiled. The plump barn owl was her closest pet. She included all the animals she worked with as her pets. This past summer her pets were the dragons of the Romanian Dragon Preserve. She had a burn on her lower leg at the moment but it was clearing up. The tiny witch stood up and walked across the room when she heard a knock on her office door.
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Post by allison on Jan 14, 2011 17:33:40 GMT -7
Alice strode purposefully, yet shyly through the second floor corridor. She was coming from the library; doing some reading on magical creatures, mainly because she wondered much about them. Classes hadn't started yet, but it was like the Ravenclaw to want to be ahead, to want to know and then learn. As she reached her destination, Alice paused slightly; she hadn't known the professor very well, seeing as she wasn't normally one to be outspoken in class. Taking a deep breath, Alice knocked on the door, and waited as she heard the footsteps of the professor inside heading towards the door.
When it opened, Alice looked down at her feet, before meeting the professor's gaze shyly, "Sorry to bother you professor, but I had a question about something." she paused, unsure how to continue. After all, she was sure not many expressed a curiousity about this particular creature, feared by many; even the acromantulas. "It's about a creature professor; one not many have knowledge about. I was wondering if you'd know anything." she continued. Yes; she was wondering a great deal over this one particular creature, and once she told Alec about it, she was sure he would be curious too.
"All the books say the same thing; that it's very large, and feared by many." she continued, trying to explain the creature before she actually asked about it. Perhaps Professor Christodoulou's memory could be jogged a bit if she explain it; and of course, if the professor knew it. "It's a giant snake whose eyes are said to kill if you look straight into them; and should you be bitten, you'd die within minutes." Alice looked at the professor, before taking a deep breath and asking the thing she truly wanted to know.
"Is there anything else you know about the Basilisk?"
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Post by Hallie Thera Christodoulou on Jan 14, 2011 17:52:57 GMT -7
Hallie looked at Alice. One of her best students in the class. She welcomed her into the office. "Well Alisson a creature such as the Basilisk you'll want to go on ahead and ask a more specific question," she told her. She sat down at her desk and pulled out the simplist of books she had all her students get. Even though a very old book, it was one of the best written. "You still have your Fantistic Beasts and Where to Find Them right? she asked.
Specifics for such a beast was needed. With Hogwarts history with a Basilisk in its walls makes it a touchy subject. "But you are a sixth year, we will be learning about Basilisks in our second lesson, we're even going to get hands on with some of the sixth year monsters, not Basilisks though," she said softly. She looked at her, "but there is only so much I am authorized to tell you," she told her with a smile.
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Post by allison on Jan 14, 2011 18:47:36 GMT -7
Alice entered the office, and followed the professor to her desk, sitting down at one of the student desks, as if in class. "Well, professor, I was wondering where they are normally found, where they originated from." Perhaps that'd be a better place to start. Yes, that was a good place to start, and Alice briefly wondered whether or not the basilisk corpse was rotted away yet. Yes, she knew about the Basilisk that once roamed the walls of Hogwarts, almost a century ago.
When Professor Christodoulou asked whether or not she had her Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them book, Alice nodded and pulled it out of her bag. She was studying with it, as she read about some of the other creatures. Still, the book didn't seem to satisfy the knowledge or information she craved about the Basilisk. She couldn't just tell the professor about what she wanted to know anyways; they've surely put a restriction on what can be taught to students and what can't be. What she wanted to know would definitely be classified as what can't be.
"There was some things about the Basilisk in here, professor; but it just seemed to match the other information in other books I looked at. Not much seems to be known about it." she looked down at her book; stroking the spine absentmindedly. There was so much to be told to wizards whom didn't work in the ministry, or as the Care of Magical Creatures professor. There was so much hidden because of the dark aspect the creature had; though Alice was sure the Basilisk was one of the darkest creatures alive, aside from the dementors and some others.
"Professor, do you know, where, exactly, a basilisk can be found? Environmental-wise?"
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Post by Hallie Thera Christodoulou on Jan 14, 2011 19:16:52 GMT -7
Hallie looked at her and nodded. "Well it's not exactly a given, they're wizard made they don't have a specific place where they are, because they're not found in the wild," she said, "imagine finding such a horrific creature in the wild." She looked, "as the book says, they're created to protect wizard homes and treasure, that practice is not known to exsist anymore, the last Basilisk ever seen was the one here almost a century ago," she said.
She was a good liar, to say the least. She's seen in person a Basilisk, with it's eyes removed. The owner didn't want to take a risk. Hallie couldn't disclose that information though. "But if you're wondering where wizards would keep them if they had one, it would usually be deep inside the home or place of treasure keeping," she told her. "Allison, may I ask why you would like to know this information?" she asked her.
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Post by allison on Jan 14, 2011 19:42:52 GMT -7
Alice nodded, as Professor Christodoulou began to explain the history of the Basilisk. They were much like acromantulas then; but she couldn't help but have a feeling the professor was disclosing information from her. There was no way such a dark creature would be made just for that; there was something else, there had to be. "They're a lot like acromantulas, then?" she decided to play along, to 'believe' the professor was telling her the truth. Alice's eyes darkened slightly, looking more like Alec's eyes than ever before.
So the supposed last Basilisk was here, in Hogwarts; the one in the chamber underneath the castle. Alice nodded, thinking about her history books on Hogwarts castle, and all that happened when the only known person to survive the killing curse had began to attent Hogwarts. It was his second year; and his friend, the brightest witch of that time, was petrified. The books said it was because the Basilisk was weak, that it wasn't fully grown yet. Alice didn't believe them. There was just that gut feeling that the wizarding world was hiding information about the dark creature, and everyone was in on it, except the students.
Alice smiled slightly, looking a little guilty. "Well, I came across it in my reading; and I've never heard of it before. So I decided that I should learn more about it, just like I know many things about Hippogriffs. It was a challenge." That was all she would say, she wasn't lying, but she wasn't telling the whole truth either. She had her reasons for wanting to know, just as the world had its reasons for secrets. And like a secret, no one else but her family would know her true, full reason of wanting to know the information.
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Post by Hallie Thera Christodoulou on Jan 14, 2011 19:54:16 GMT -7
"Basilisks were made to kill anyone who tried to such a thing, they're only controllable by parselmouths, one reason there are none to be known to exist today," Hallie told her, "Acromantulas now are found in the wild, so no they are not a lot like Acromantulas, Basilisks are special, they are made for darkness," she explained. She was trying to answer Alice's questions the best she could with following the Ministry of Magic's rules on creatures such as the Basilisk. There was much that everyday wizards had to learn about Basilisks and even though Hallie herself believed that wizards should know all they could about them she couldn't teach that information.
The sixth year girl across from her spoke. "Allison, I know you better than that, I know you know more than you're letting on about the Basilisk," she told her. "The only possible way I can tell you everything of the Basilisk is if you are going to take over my job here, which of course I'm suspecting you're not, too smart in other things to become a Care of Magical Creatures professor," she said.
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Post by allison on Jan 16, 2011 17:46:06 GMT -7
Alice raised an eyebrow in an Alec-like way. "Can two parselmouths control one Basilisk? Or is it just tied to one parselmouth?" When Professor Christodoulou talked about how they were made for darkness, Alice couldn't help the spark that flashed in her eyes. That was something she was sure to tell Alec, he'd love to know that little piece of advise. However, she still knew that the professor was hiding something, and it was information she bet was essential information when it came to the dark creature.
However, when Professor Chrstodoulou questioned her actions, Alice's eyes narrowed slightly. Was she wondering whether or not she could tell her all she knew about the Basilisk? Or did she truly suspect alterior motives? Well, one thing Alice was sure about, was that the professor wouldn't get her motive for asking about the dangerous and dark snake. "Well, you see, the reading I did. It mentioned something about the Basilisk; and I was wondering if it you knew anything about it." It said the Basilisk was feared, and that it was a giant snake. She was wondering about the poison; the poison in the fangs of the Basilisk.
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Post by Hallie Thera Christodoulou on Jan 16, 2011 19:54:14 GMT -7
Hallie looked at her, "that I'm not sure, what I do know is most of the time it is tied with the creator, I'm assuming two parselmouths could, but like most creatures it would listen to one more than the other," she told her. She tried to choose her words wisely and looked at the girl. She really did wonder about what the girl wanted with all this information.
"Well how about this, you ask the question and I will tell you what I can," she said standing up and grabbing a small book off of a shelf. It was what looked like a drawing notebook but it was more of self scribbled notes on creatures she'd spent time with. "Still there's only so much information even I know of the creature, some people know more than others, but because we don't work with Basilisks hands on we rarely get a chance to learn much about them," she explained to Alice.
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Post by allison on Jan 19, 2011 17:32:02 GMT -7
As Professor Christodoulou explained the relationships between a Basilisk and the creator, along with the chance of another parselmouth trying to control it too. She nodded, "So, it's like a pet? The owner and another person try to tell it what to do, but it would most likely listen to the owner. Right?" She knew the concept, but she wondered if there was more, if controlling the Basilisk was not as simple as she made it sound.
Alice nodded, thinking deeply about her question. Professor Christodoulou had said there was a limited amount of information on the Basilisk, since not many can be handled hands on; and not many are around anyways. Alice looked at the professor, wondering just how much she could possibly know. "Well, first of all, I was wondering, what's the normal length of a basilisk? And, if it's like a snake, what does it eat?" She'd start with the normal questions, the ones she was sure the other students would ask. Then she would turn to the more complex questions; the ones the other students wouldn't even dare of asking, or even thinking about.
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